fathom

Contreras doesn't have nowhere near his good forkball right now. Hopefully he'll get better stuff as the game goes on.

I don't buy for one second that Garner would have brought in Rodriguez. Just a little case of trying to motivate the pitcher, I guess.

Great call by Ozzie! Even if it doesn't work, anything to make Rowand stay on the ball is a great idea.

QUOTE(Punch and Judy Garland @ Oct 23, 2005 -> 12:29 AM) I hate it when the wind blows out. Both homers normally would not have been Both balls were hammered. I think we've seen enough games at the Cell to know the ball doesn't fly out when it's cold out. Even Ensberg got the good part of the bat on that fly ball, he just had nothing behind it.

Clemens gets the 3-1 pitch from the ump that wasn't a strike, and Contreras didn't get the call on the first pitch to Lamb. One of my biggest concerns coming in here was the strike zone that Clemens typically gets.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Oct 21, 2005 -> 08:20 PM) f*** Paulie's dad. What does he know. I fully expect that Paul wants to stay with this group of guys, and the experience in the WS is going to amplify that even more. I still think we get a discount. Not to try and start an argument, but I would assume PK's dad knows his son's intentions/feelings better than just about anyone. Even though PK has to be politically correct in how he answers questions in the paper, his dad has an easier opportunity to state which way they are favoring.

QUOTE(SSH2005 @ Oct 21, 2005 -> 08:14 PM) If we win the WS, Konerko will be back. Reinsdorf will bring back the same crew and more to try and win another. He would get reamed by the media and fans if he didn't. All the money will be there to do it anyways. But I agree with you, as long as Konerko helps us win this thing it won't really bother me if he isn't back next season. I don't think it matters if we win it all in regards to PK. I actually think it's more likely he would leave if the Sox win it all than if they lose to the Astros. Either way, I'm not very optimistic he'll be brought back. I have no fear though, cause I think we'll have a ton of resources to try and improve the offense.

The last few weeks, it has seemed more and more likely that PK won't be back for the Sox. With the production he's shown lately, he's making himself the top FA target this offseason. At this point, it really doesn't matter to me. As long as he continues to do well in the postseason, I won't get too mad if he leaves. Don't get me wrong, I'd like to see him back. However, for the money he's going to get, I won't be too upset to see the Sox go in a different direction. Sometimes the best FA contracts are the ones you don't make.

BTW....nice to finally have something we can agree on Rock!

QUOTE(IlliniKrush @ Oct 20, 2005 -> 07:22 PM) I'm sick of repeating myself, but Self wouldn't have coached this team to a 2nd place finish in the tournament, nor a 37-2 record. Period. His players or not, he COACHED them to all those accomplishments. No one is debating he coached this group of players to excellence. The question is whether or not he can recruit the level of players they had last season on his own. So far, he's been missing on a lot of his top targets. Carlwell has been his best get, and some of the guys he's been getting are because other programs simply ran away from the players before they could commit to their school (Semrau with WF and others, Charles Jackson with Ga Tech).

QUOTE(Chisoxrd5 @ Oct 20, 2005 -> 02:42 PM) Give it a few years...it wasn't 'horrible' and for you to say that you obviously have no idea what you're talking about. If he misses out on Gordon, Rose, Mbakwe, Cole, Bayless and the whole other slew of talented Juniors looking at us and does not compile a top 5 class then we have something to be worried about. The way it has shook out is not favorable, but one good recruiting year can turn it all around. I'm disappointed, no doubt, but to say it is horrible is way out of line. So far, it's been horrible. He's missed out on Wright, Scheyer, and Collins. If you keep losing top in-state talent, your recruiting is going to be considered horrible. Could you imagine a similar program like Georgia Tech, if they kept missing out on the best players in Georgia? Quite simply, high school recruits don't mesh well with Weber's personality (and this isn't just a rumor).

The two main players I'd consider trading Contreras for in the offseason are Adam Dunn and Mark Teixeira.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Oct 19, 2005 -> 09:55 PM) wow, what were the guys doing 9 months ago???? You get the feeling they weren't expecting to play this deep into the season, don't you?

Plain and simple: Weber doesn't know how to recruit big-time players with big-time egos. There was a particular super recruit last year that chose Kansas over the Illini that really didn't care for Weber. All these accusations being made by the Illini camp that Kansas cheated to get Collins is PATHETIC to me for the following reason: Trust me, Self didn't learn how to cheat at Kansas. If he cheats now, he was cheating at Illinois. If you're on the Illiniboard, go and read what Deron Williams mom had to say about Self.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Oct 19, 2005 -> 03:00 PM) Twins, I even rooted for them in the playoffs. I hate cubs and their fans. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ This is like picking between getting your leg broken, or getting paralyzed.

QUOTE(LosMediasBlancas @ Oct 19, 2005 -> 06:49 PM) But we won the series. I'm shocked you'd see the glass half empty though. Give it a rest. A lot of people didn't want Jordan throwing out the first pitch because they lost the last playoff game that he did.

QUOTE(LosMediasBlancas @ Oct 19, 2005 -> 05:25 PM) Good luck? It worked once, go with it again. Actually, that's the only game they've lost so far.

QUOTE(FlaSoxxJim @ Oct 18, 2005 -> 05:41 PM) I'm not thinking it would or should be a get in line thing. Why not do it like they did for the 2003 ASG, where you sent in a postcard if you wanted a chance to buy tix. I wanted to go, I sent in 200 postcards, and I got tix. For the World Series I'd happily send in 500. Damn the postage and frull speed ahead! Huge difference between setting up a lottery for a set event months in advanced, and then having to sell tickets a week prior to the World Series.

QUOTE(greasywheels121 @ Oct 18, 2005 -> 05:30 PM) I'm bummed that I can't go to Chicago now, but I still get to see the games. I don't think anyones pissed about that. I know, but to hear some people say how they're going to b**** about it at Sox Fest is comical to me.

Not surprised that almost everyone on here struggled to get tickets. Oh well, I'm not going to let this ruin my excitement for the WS.

QUOTE(Texsox @ Oct 18, 2005 -> 04:14 PM) Post some quotes that show what you are talking about. I don't see the Pujols to Cubs town link. It's exactly what you said in your post prior to this...that his goal was to show that the Pujols homer still showed that this is a Cubs town. Let me ask you this: What type of dickhead reporter would take a great event like a city team making the World Series, and two days after it happens, write an article saying how that team still means basically nothing to a majority of the people in that city? It looks like we found Debbie Downer's soulmate. I'm going to bet that Hawk would be the best man at the wedding.

QUOTE(Texsox @ Oct 18, 2005 -> 04:01 PM) No he used the Pujols homerun to show that despite everything going the Sox way, it is still a Cubs town. Yes I read the article, and I still think he's completely reaching to say that since Pujols hit the homer, it still makes it a Cubs town. If anything, the Pujols homer last night should have made the buzz around town diminish because the Sox still don't know who they're playing in the World Series. The next few days should be the calm before the storm. Please don't group me with other Sox homers though that will rip on anything Mariotti says. This article just flat out sucked, and it seems like the type of thing written by someone who has a lot of hate for a team. And like was just mentioned, Mariotti can never just come out and praise the team without somehow throwing in an insult also.

QUOTE(downstairs @ Oct 18, 2005 -> 03:24 PM) I've called a bunch of TicketMaster phone numbers this morning... all the way out to South Dakota.... They're all busy?! That seems strange? Any ideas why? Tickets for the Vikings Summer Cruise must have gone on sale to the public.

After being a graduate assistant in a major Division I athletic department, I can tell you that teams don't really give a s*** about individual ticket sales. Rather, it's all about getting season tickets. If the Sox can use this World Series to generate guaratneed season ticket holders for next year, then that's an opportunity they can't pass up. I know it sounds like the right thing to do to let the "true" fans buy the tickets, but that would be just foolish business.

I'm too lazy to go through this whole thread to find the answer, but what are the important phone numbers we need to know for noon today?